April 14, 2014, 1:07PM

There are two reasons the phrase "moderate Democrat" never finds traction in modern American discourse. Let's break them down. The first is there are so few of them. "Moderate Democrats" have become such an endangered species they are rarely sighted; consequently there are few references to them. The second reason is thrown into sharp relief by the ubiquitous and... Full story »

April 05, 2014, 11:36AM

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's budget gives massive tax cuts to the rich while cutting programs like education and research that spur job growth. Full story »

March 27, 2014, 4:48PM

American Christians in the early 18th century were unsure if they should prepare their African captives for eternity. There wasn't a consensus on whether those captives possessed souls. If they didn't, then baptizing them would be a waste of time and water. Another camp seemed less bothered by that question and more worried that converted Africans would get uppity.... Full story »

March 14, 2014, 11:25AM

Paul Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice-presidential nominee, made some interesting remarks Wednesday about persistent unemployment. "We have got this tailspin of culture," he said, "in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning to value the culture of work, so there is a real culture problem... Full story »

March 21, 2013, 1:50PM

WASHINGTON -- The House Thursday approved by a party-line vote a Republican spending plan for 2014 that would balance the U.S. budget in 10 years with substantial cuts in spending and a new Medicare plan for Americans younger than 55. It passed 221-207 and puts the GOP once again solidly on the side of reduced federal funding and more... Full story »

December 05, 2012, 7:04PM

Washington -- Over the long run, the most important impact of an election is not on the winning party but on the loser. Winners feel confirmed in staying the course they're on. Losing parties -- or, at least, the ones intent on winning again someday -- are moved to figure out what they did wrong and how they must... Full story »

November 28, 2012, 7:06PM

Washington -- With a chip on his shoulder larger than his margin of victory, Barack Obama is approaching his second term by replicating the mistake of his first. Then his overreaching involved health care -- expanding the entitlement state at the expense of economic growth. Now he seeks another surge of statism, enlarging the portion of gross domestic product... Full story »

October 19, 2012, 2:29PM

WASHINGTON -- Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan slammed President Barack Obama on Friday for describing the response to the deadly attack in Libya as "not optimal" and said the White House is misleading the country in the face of mounting questions. Obama promised answers. "If four Americans get killed, it's not optimal," the president said Thursday during an... Full story »

October 12, 2012, 3:30PM

WASHINGTON -- After two debates, one presidential and one vice presidential, we can fairly conclude that Obama and Biden are happy warriors. They just smile and smile and smile. Whereas President Obama's smile during his debate with Mitt Romney seemed to be an afterthought, proffered as recompense to relieve the strain of his lackluster performance, Vice President Biden's was an Uzi.... Full story »

October 12, 2012, 7:27AM

DANVILLE, Ky. -- In a spirited debate that laid out stark choices, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan teed up pointed arguments on the economy, social policy and America's place in the world that President Barack Obama and GOP rival Mitt Romney now will drive forward into the campaign's final stretch. With just 25 days to go in Campaign 2012... Full story »

October 11, 2012, 10:10PM

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Joe Biden mockingly smiled, wagged his finger, and couldn't seem to stop interrupting Republican running mate Paul Ryan. "With all due respect, that's a bunch of malarkey," Biden said at one point, during an exchange on foreign policy. Democrats cheered his sharp tone in the only vice presidential debate. Republicans panned the vice president as... Full story »

October 11, 2012, 9:40PM

DANVILLE, Ky. -- At odds in an instant, Republican Paul Ryan cited the death of the U.S. ambassador in Libya as evidence Thursday night that the administration's foreign policy is unraveling. Vice President Joe Biden shot back in campaign debate, "That is a bunch of malarkey." <a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/6602082/">Who is winning Biden-Ryan debate?</a> "Not a single thing he said is... Full story »

October 11, 2012, 8:04PM

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's campaign signaled their first debate strategy shift Thursday in a tweet. Hours before the vice presidential debate, the campaign sent out a photograph on Twitter of Joe Biden rehearsing for the primetime event. There was the vice president, sitting side-by-side with his practice partner on a set designed to look like the debate stage... Full story »

October 11, 2012, 3:33PM

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Mocking his Republican rival, President Barack Obama says Mitt Romney once described himself as "severely conservative." But these days, Obama says Romney is trying to convince voters he was, in Obama's words, "severely kidding." Obama says Romney is trying to mask his past stances on tax cuts and health care. Obama's critique follows last week's... Full story »

October 11, 2012, 2:15PM

WASHINGTON -- Time running short, Vice President Joe Biden faces the greater burden in his debate with Republican Paul Ryan as he seeks to use the election's only encounter between presidential running mates to slow Mitt Romney's momentum and reset the campaign storyline in time for the next Obama-Romney debate. Biden's job, after President Barack Obama's startlingly lackluster showing... Full story »

October 11, 2012, 11:27AM

DANVILLE, Ky. -- Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Paul Ryan pull up a couple of chairs for a vice presidential debate that has mushroomed in importance since Mitt Romney's strong showing in the first presidential faceoff. This time, it's the Obama team looking to put the brakes on the other guy's momentum. The debate begins at 8 p.m. CDT... Full story »

October 10, 2012, 10:18AM

WASHINGTON -- Four years ago, Joe Biden was careful not to appear overly aggressive in his vice presidential debate with Sarah Palin, then a newcomer to the national stage. Now, as he prepares to debate Paul Ryan, a 14-year House veteran and the top Republican budget writer, Biden is less concerned about looking like a bully. "He won't have... Full story »